All I Need
by Waterlilies
Summary: She could feel him closing his distance, and she felt trapped. "Clint, love is for children," her words were carried away with the wind. She still felt his grasp on her arm increasing in pressure.


Here's my first Avengers fan fiction. Ever since watching the movie, I just felt there should be more of Clintasha. Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. Without further ado, enjoy.

* * *

His eyes narrowed at the sights below him, as nightfall slowly engulfed the city. In the distance, he could see the single letter, A, flicker on Stark tower. He always saw better from afar. The taste of the clear vodka burned down his throat, but it wasn't enough to drown out his memories. How many times did she come across his mind? He lost count by now, but he would always remember their first encounter.

He had finished wrapping up his performance with the traveling circus, and was zipping up his bag, when a shadowy figure approached him. She donned on a tight fitted black suit with her red curls that encroached her shoulders. She asked for his help in obtaining something.

At that time, she was a rogue agent. She got wind of Tony Stark's new technology of armor that could be used in massive warfare, and being the Black Widow it wouldn't be a problem to obtain the necessary blueprints. The only problem was Jarvis, and she needed someone to cover her.

The pair slipped among the shadows of the darken tower, and managed to slip through the infrared lasers that changed positions every ten seconds. The two danced in tandem to the invisible beams until they were at the main server.

Never once did they talk, but it was like they could read each other's moves. It was their secret language. In the background, the server hummed in the silence. Her eyes flashed towards his gray eyes, signaling they were getting close. He nodded and looked to see if anyone was heading towards them.

She knew the system would be sensitive, Jarvis was sleeping in the background One false data entry, and he would be activated. Game over. Her fingers danced over the keyboard, as she typed in the codes and broke through firewalls.

Hawkeye kept a distance, as he glanced occasionally towards his mysterious partner. A flashlight flickered in the distance, and immediately he withdrew his bow. His longtime friend came to life, and he drew an arrow from his bag. It silently pierced through the darkness and met its target.

Her eyes continued to scan the screen as she was looking for a hole in the firewall. The CS codes weren't doing their trick and she knew the clock was running. She cursed in Russian, as her codes were failing before her eyes. Jarvis had awakened and was now locking her in. "We need to go now," she yelled at him, as she pulled a USB key from the main computer before sparks shot out.

The AI sounded the alarm, "Security breach…level six," and unleashed the squads.

The pair was immediately met with heavy firepower, as they moved about in the server room. The bullets ricocheted off the resistant metal. They were trapped like fish in a barrel.

"This was your brilliant idea," he growled.

"Shut up," she barked back at him. She looked to see what exits were open, and there was only one. She pulled out her weapon, and fired at the two main snipers that blocked their way. "We need to go," she hand signaled to him.

The pair dashed out under the barrage of bullets, as they both tried to run for cover. She saw the backside of his uniform and wondered if she should eliminate him as an accomplice. She pulled out Widow's Bite, but withdrew it at the last minute when she felt a warm liquid between her black suit and skin. Out in the open, they ran through the shadows, trying to get as much distance from the tower.

He led them to an alleyway, where it would give them minutes to recuperate from their adrenaline rush. He noticed that she crumpled on the ground and her breathing was erratic. "You've been hit."

"I know," she grunted.

"You need to go to hospital."

The red head fired back, "No I don't," and muttered a few more curses in Russian.

He turned his back on her for a brief second, as he looked from their hideout. There was no one there, and when he turned around, she was gone. A warm pool of blood was the only thing left from her.

And then he heard them, heavy footfalls coming from behind him. He grabbed his bow, and steadied an arrow, ready to aim at the stranger before him.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the voice was low. "We need to talk, Barton." Out of the shadows, Nick Fury appeared along with one S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.

He dipped his arrow away from Fury's one good eye.

…

His gray eyes stared ahead of him, as he looked upon Fury and Agent Coulson. The car ride was stifling, as he saw the city streets morph from one into another. He didn't like to be caged up. Whatever mess she left him, he was going to pay the price.

"What were you trying to do?" Fury's voice finally broke the silence.

The marksman sat still in the leather seat, "Beats me."

Agent Coulson pulled up the file of his partner in crime, "She's called the Black Widow, and she has been trying to snatch up Intel on Stark Industries for quite some time."

"Interesting," he grabbed the manila folder from Coulson. "And what do you want from me?"

"We've been watching you, Barton." Fury leaned in closer. "We need you on our side."

Barton leaned back in his seat, wondering where this conversation was leading to, "What's in it for me?"

"A clean slate."

His eyes questioned at that last statement, "Really?" He looked at the pair, as they both sat in silence. "That simple."

"It can be that simple."

"Hn," he placed his hand under his chin. "Sounds too good to be true."

Fury sat in silence, even then, his demeanor held a commanding presence, and stared down the sharpshooter from Waverly, Iowa.

"Alright then." He felt the car come to complete stop. By now, they were on the outskirts of town, and he could hear the splashing of water against the pier.

"Meet your newest partner, Agent Hill."

"I tend to work alone," he responded curtly.

"Not when you're working with me, as your superior officer," Fury countered back.

"Agent Barton, this way," Maria pointed to a boat that was docked at the pier.

…

Their next chance encounter would be another two years. He sat in one of steeples of the parliament building, overlooking the modernized city with the sounds and bustle of the early morning. A harsh wind blew from the Danube River, as he waited for instructions from his COM.

Two days prior, he viewed the scene. The jagged pieces of concrete were still smoldering from what was left of the children's hospital, as he surveyed the damage. Ten children were still accounted for, as he continued to look for any clues. His foot fell lightly among the ashes of dust and soot, as he was afraid to come across a ghastly sight. For being on numerous missions, he never liked to see children as victims. His eyes scanned the debris field, as he used a steel bar to overturn smaller concrete pieces. Out of the corner of his vision, a heap of concrete concealed the smoking gun. He pulled out his gloves and moved the mangled mess, a dented trap door.

Maria sat in one of the open cafes by the railroad station, as she pretended to read the morning's news. "You're awfully quiet, Agent Barton." She was met with silence on the other end with the soft crackles of the wind bustling through.

"Are you sure the Intel is right?"

"Positive. Agent Coulson never misses a single detail, even though it may take him longer," she smirked, as she continued to eye the ever-changing crowds. Her eyes glanced back down to her paper, and landed on the main event, which was still talk of the of town on both sides of the Danube. Agent Hill looked up again, and her eyes narrowed on their target. "Firestorm at 3'clock."

"Acknowledged," and with that, he left his perch and walked through the city streets, trying to catch his prey.

"I'm going after her," Hill responded on the other end other COM.

"Wait for backup." All he could do was hear her breath, as she ran down the streets, chasing their elusive target.

Hill started to pick up her pace, "S.H.I.E.L.D. agents are at least ten minutes out, and you're not that far behind from them either."

Barton started to pick up the pace, as the situation turned critical. He couldn't let her get away for a second time. In less then a minute, he heard a scuffle coming from their transmission. "Hill!" Several shots rang out from his earpiece.

"She got away," a restless Hill spoke.

"Are you hit?"

"No," she pushed her earpiece closer to eliminate the static. She's heading north according to the GPS tracking device."

Barton cut through corners and alleyways, as he lined up the GPS with his watch. Two dots were getting closer and closer. _Where are you? _From the corner of his eye, he saw a circular device suspended in air. _Shit, shit, shit. _He felt a bullet come from behind him and it knocked the wind out of him. Thankfully, he was wearing a bulletproof vest underneath his gear.

Out of the shadows, she leapt over him, and landed on her feet. Her hands were in close combat with one knife in her right hand. "You again," she muttered.

Clint was on the defensive, as he pulled out his bow. Not sooner than a second, they were hand-to-hand combat. He could feel her wrenching his weapon away from him, as she dealt a blow to his left knee. "Why did you do it?"

Her fiery eyes glared back, "You wouldn't understand," as she lost her grip on the knife.

"Try me," as he gritted his teeth. He punched her in her abdomen, but she didn't flinch, as she countered by flipping him to his back.

"You're too weak," she glared back at him, as she slipped a needle from her sleeve.

He managed to shift his weight, and took her by surprise, and now the tables were turn. She lost hold of the poisonous needle, and she heard it clang to the ground. "I have a team of agents less than five minutes away."

She spat in his face, as he tightened his hold around her neck. "I have red in my ledger." She looked directly in his gray eyes, "I need to wipe it out."

"Why the hospital?" He didn't dare let go of his grip.

"It was a debt to payoff." She could feel his grip on her throat lessen, "Something for my parents, who desperately tried to keep them safe."

"The children?" And then his mind flashed back to the trap door he found in the rubble.

"I told you wouldn't understand," and she managed to flip him back with the needle to this throat. She could see his carotids pulsate as she increased her weight on him. "One false move, and you'll meet your death." A few feet away, he could see his useless bow resting on the pavement, and she kicked it away.

"I can help you," he whispered.

"I don't need any help," she scoffed back. "This is something I need to do alone."

"You're dead wrong." He looked directly at her, "I read your file at S.H.I.E.L.D." He saw her lower the needle one more time. "You were part of the Red Room." Those two last words were enough to make her become undone, and he felt the pressure lighten around his entire body. "The ten children…"

"There she is," a stranger yelled out from the alleyway. Immediately a round of bullets were fired, and the man went down with a thud.

"Who was that?" He looked up at her, wondering who was chasing whom at this time.

"There's no time to explain," she cocked another round in her gun. "Your team has been compromised."

She was right. He looked at the small group ahead of him; he didn't recognize any of the men. S.H.I.E.L.D. was compromised at this point. There was no time to figure out the mole, but something wasn't right to begin with the mission in the first place.

"Agent Barton, what is your location?" Hill's voice rang in his earpiece. "Have you taken out the target?"

"Can't talk right now, there has been a change in plans." He fired several of his arrows and triggered an explosion.

"What change in plans?" She tried to listen to his words, but the static was interfering their conversation. "Take out Romanoff now. Take the shot!"

Natasha looked over towards him, as she saw a change in his eyes. She felt a shiver run up her spine, which was a feeling she hasn't felt in a long while. It was the same look that she would give before killing her targets. She reached over recent kill and tried to grab any ammunition that she could find. Her eyes widened as she saw him gather one of his arrows, and took a deep breath before the sharp head would pierce through her skin. She could feel the arrow whiz pass her cheek, as she heard a thud come from behind her.

"No, I will not." He ripped the COM piece from his ear and threw it to the ground. The metal was crushed the underneath the weight of his boot.

"I have another debt to payoff," she whispered.

"We're not done here yet," as he pulled a used arrow from a mock S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. "You're coming with me."

…

His head started to throb, as he took another gulp of the cool liquid. He could feel the dull pain festering on both sides of his head.

"Penny for your thoughts?" She had silently walked up from behind me. Natasha was only one of few who could sneak up behind him. Her slender fingers took the bottle from his side, and she took a quick gulp of the medicating drink. She still felt a piece of shawarma cling to her throat.

"Hn," he rubbed his head, "so much for cognitive recalibration."

A small smile graced her lips, as she looked at him, "If I had to do it again, I would, Clint."

The two assassins sat in silence for the next several minutes, soaking in the sounds of what their lives would be if it were ordinary. A couple of times, she stole glances at her partner, who was lying on his back with his arms folded underneath his head. "What were you thinking about earlier?"

His gaze held fast to the black canvas sky, as he tried to pick out the stars against the smog, "About us."

"And what about us?" her curiosity peaked.

"How we first met, and how you nearly died in that alleyway."

"I was stubborn back then," she took another long gulp of the vodka. At this time, the bottle was almost empty.

"And you're still stubborn," he looked over towards her. Her short fiery red hair that he knew so well was casted as a dull red in the shadows. He got up from his back and looked at her directly. His hand gently brushed against her arm. "Nat…"

She could feel him closing his distance, and she felt trapped. "Clint, love is for children," her words were carried away with the wind. She still felt his grasp on her arm increasing in pressure.

"I think it's time to call it a night," his eyes looked defeated. For them being paired on and off for numerous missions, he still wasn't close enough to hear what he wanted to hear. Without pushing the issue further, he held his hand out to her and she took it without any qualms.

"Let's get cleaned up."

The two made their way down in the safe house provided by S.H.I.E.L.D. The rooms were well furnished with the simple comforts of home. Natasha swung by the kitchen and grabbed the numerous first aid kits from one of the cabinets, and followed Clint to one of the bedrooms.

It was automatic by now. They both had tended to each other's wounds from their previous encounters from superficial cuts to bullet holes. And on top of it, they had numerous training sessions for their line of work.

"Sit," she ordered him, as he protested slightly to her command.

"Ladies first," he countered.

"I am no lady," she retorted back. "And besides who had their head hit a metal railing in less than 24 hours."

She grabbed a bottle of hydrogen peroxide from the kit and came back to his side. Her eyes caught the faint glistening of glass shards embedded in his scalp. Her hands methodically used tweezers and pulled the jagged pieces out from his hairline. She caught him staring at her again, as she dropped the glass shards in a metal tin. "What?"

"Nothing."

She poured the hydrogen peroxide on several gauze pieces and applied steady pressure to the open sores. The sounds of bubbles fizzling interrupted the silence briefly. "I need you to take that jacket off."

Without any hesitation, he quickly obliged. Again, her eyes caught several shards embedded his back. "What did you do? Dive through a glass plate?"

"Gee, how did you know?" he mocked back at her.

She leaned in closer, brushing up against him slightly as she teased his skin with the tweezers. The sounds of the shards clanged against the metal tin. Her eyes caught faint traces of his previous battles. There were several scars that were jagged, indicating they were previous gunshots and assorted array of sharp objects. Some of them were courtesy from Trick Shot, his former mentor. It was someone he mentioned on one of their missions, and she felt it was something that should remain his past.

"Finished," she whispered, and she gathered her supplies.

He looked up from his seat, "Wait, what about you?"

"I'm fine," she swatted his hand away.

"Stop being stubborn, Tash."

She was halfway to the door, when he came up from behind her. She felt his hands wrap around her waist, and that was when tensed. "I said I'm fine," her words burned.

"Liar."

"Clint," she pulled away from him.

"Prove it," he pointed at her. He stood in front of her without his jacket. "I'm not moving." He planted himself between her and the door with his arms crossed in front of his bare chest.

She threw down her supplies on the table, and muttered several curses in Russian. "This is stupid." She stood in front of him, as she slowly unzipped her black suit. The synthetic material clung to her skin mixed with sweat and alien blood. She could feel his eyes move down her body as he searched for any traces of gapping holes, but he could see bruises around her forearms and abdomen.

She watched him close the distance between them, and stood in her place. Even though she wasn't completely exposed, it felt different this time, partially due to the interrogation with Loki. She always thought Barton as an ally since Budapest, but the way the puny god twisted his words with her, it made her sick. With her line of work, she could be the temptress and seductress if she wanted to, but it never went that far to those deep, dark places.

Even as she was watching him come out of the mind control, it scared her that he could have the potential to harm her. The feral beast was still within. By then, Barton could pick up something was wrong in her demeanor. The spark in her had dimmed down, but he knew better than to push the wrong buttons when she was in a foul mood.

"Nat, look at me," he reached out towards her cut on her temple, bringing her out of her flashback stupor.

Her gaze shifted back to him, as she pulled back from the hydrogen peroxide. "Sorry." The congealed blood turned the white gauze to a burnt copper.

He continued to apply some mild pressure, as he reactivated the cut. "It's about Loki isn't it?" She nodded in response and sighed. "He's going back to Asgard tomorrow morning. Thor will see that he pays."

"I know," her voice shivered.

The skilled archer was at a loss for words. He could remember pieces and parts of how Loki manipulated his mind. He even remembered the time where he shot Fury in getting the Tesseract from him. And even when his very own partner had to fight against him. He wanted to feel her blood run between his fingers at times. He shuttered at the thought of it.

Without thinking, he grabbed her in his arms, and held her close to him. He could feel her heart flutter in reaction against his chest, as they both stood there in silence. He buried his head in the crook of her neck and drunk her scent in. In all their months together, this was the closest to being affectionate to her without crossing any personal boundaries.

"Clint?"

"Hm?"

"I think you can let go now," her voice was coming back to her.

"Right," he let his partner go and traced the soft purple edges of her bruises on her abdomen. His eyes also found the faint scar above her navel, a remnant from their very first encounter.

…

She tossed and turned in her bed, as her mind was lost in her dream. She could feel his body next to hers, as they had their backs against mangled metal. Her ammunition stockpile was at a critical low, and she knew they were running out of options.

"What's your play, Hawkeye?"

He tightened his hold around his bow, and surveyed the situation, "Two more snipers on the roof, and three on the ground. The odds are not in our favor."

She cocked her gun, "I have three more rounds left at best," and she peered over to his arrows. "We can't stay here too long."

"Its now or never," he pushed a button on his case, and sent an arrow out as a distraction.

The explosion rocked a nearby building, where its walls crumbled, and the debris knocked the two snipers out.

Her eyes honed in on a brief flash of silver, and she fired three shots at the target. All this time, the pair ran through the street, hoping to dodge the enemy fire. And then, she could feel it. A sharp searing pain ran down the left side of her back, and she crumbled to the ground. She gasped for air, but found none, and her vision faded in and out.

She reached over to her back and drew crimson on her hands. In the distance, she saw him turn around and saw the fear increase in his gray eyes.

"Nat!" he screamed, as her eyes caught him falling in a barrage of gunfire.

She woke with a sharp gasp for air, and threw the covers off of her sweat-laden body.

"Still having nightmares?"

She tried to slow down her breathing, "Clint…how long were you here?"

"I heard you screamed," he continued to lean against the wall.

"Sorry about that."

"Don't be," he walked over to her and sat on the corner of her bed. "I couldn't sleep either."

She laughed a little to diffuse the tension in the room, "I guess we're two messed up people."

"You mean two, messed up assassins."

She crawled up next to him, and laid her head on his shoulder. She could feel him stiffen slightly at the unexpected move, as she left her soft red curls tickle the bottom of his chin.

"What nightmare were you having this time?"

She continued to lay her head on his shoulder, "We were both dying."

He wrapped an arm around her, "That's pretty grim."

"I know," as she snuggled closer to him, hoping that his closeness would erase her nightmare. "I hadn't had one like those up until now," she swallowed hard.

In the back of her mind, she knew it was always a possibility that either one of them could be killed anytime when S.H.I.E.L.D. sent them on their missions, which now included magic and monsters to that list. That feeling of being killed sunk to the pit of her stomach.

"Tash, about earlier," he paused briefly in midsentence, as he felt her breathing slowed, as if she was sleeping.

"Yeah."

He turned to face her, "Sorry, if I crossed the line."

"Don't be," she whispered. All this time, she knew she was fighting an ever-losing battle. She never did mention it to him, since she always held that notion that she didn't believe in love. One reason being she would be compromised. But, it was too late. The moment she heard that Barton had been compromised, it was the single spark that pushed her over the edge. She saw him more than a friend and partner, but someone who held her future.

In the darkness, she could see a faint outline of his broad shoulders and the light gray t-shirt with black pants. She leaned forward and placed her forehead against his without triggering another headache. She could feel his breath on her cheeks, and she took all the strength she had. There was no going back, no more. There was nowhere to hide. This was it.

Her lips touched against his, and she looked into his eyes to see his reaction. In his gray irises, she saw a reflection of herself, and it was all she needed at the very moment. Years of turning him down countlessly were erased to nothing. She could feel his arms wrap around the small of her back, as he cradled her closer to his body.

"I'm sorry for being the fool," she whispered to him.

"Baby steps," he ran a hand through her soft red curls. "It's going to take time."

"I wonder what the others will think," she intertwined her own hand with his left hand.

A soft laugh escaped from the marksman, as he thought about it. "Well, Tony will try to find any dirty secret on us. The Cap will be oblivious. Thor and Banner might join Tony's team."

"I guess it can be our little secret," she smiled. "And if anyone inquiries about us, we can always use our weapon cache."

"I love the way you think," he kissed her on top of her head, and caught a faint scent of green tea.

…

She could feel the sun's rays on her body, and stretched out in her bed. She didn't want to open her sleep-laden eyes, and just wanted to sleep more. Her hands moved out from her, but were met with cold, empty bed sheets.

Her eyes furrowed because she could have sworn that he had came to her in the middle of the night, and now she was thinking it was all a part of a dream. She neglected to gather her robe, as she tiptoed out into the main hallway. Her lilac camisole flew at her sides as she quickened her pace.

The smell of hazelnut came from the main kitchen, as she saw her partner stand in front of the coffeemaker. "Morning."

"Morning," she took an empty seat on a barstool. "Why didn't you wake me up?"

"You looked too peaceful," he stated the fact as he reached above the cupboard to pour two cups of coffee.

She reached over to grab a mug from him, and took a sip of the warm, dark liquid. "Just perfect," she murmured. She felt the drug run through her veins, and release the tension in her muscles.

"Good. It took me long enough, just to figure out how you liked it," he took a sip from his own mug.

"Aren't we going to be late?"

He looked at his watch, "We're still on time."

She downed the last of her coffee, "We might as well change and get going to the park. If we stick around long enough, Fury might even decide to give us our next mission."

And soon enough, it felt like ages as the entire group reunited in the park. It was an odd sense. They weren't in their full gear, but they didn't want any funny business coming from Loki. Everyone was still on pins and needles, but Thor commanded the scene as he grabbed one end of the vessel that contained the Tesseract, while he eyed his adoptive brother to do the same thing.

Even behind those sunglasses of his, the Black Widow could feel her partner tense up. He even had promised her that he stored his bow in his bag just in case things went wrong. And she reassured him that she brought her own special tasers too. She probably figured the others had their alternative methods as well.

In less than a second, a blue light engulfed the brothers, but she had a feeling that the blue cube will make its way back to earth somehow. With all she had seen the day prior, and shutting down the Tesseract with Loki's staff, it was only just a matter of time.

The roar of the Cap's motorcycle brought her back to the present, as the group of misfits slowly disbanded on their own direction. Not a minute after, she heard the engine rev from Stark's convertible, as he drove Banner back to the airport. No one in the group had sense a change in the dynamics between the two assassins. Their secret was safe in the meantime.

A bag was thrown in her direction, "Come on let's go. There's no point staying."

She caught the black bag, and took the shotgun position. She adjusted her cream colored jacket, as he turned the keys in the ignition. "Any idea where we're off to?" She put on her dark rimmed sunglasses.

"How about Budapest?"

"Funny, Barton," she shook her head.

"I don't know then," he murmured, as he drove, "you pick something."

"Just keep driving until we run out of gas or electric power," she figured Tony's car was rigged in a way to save on gas and mileage, since he was the first to promote clean energy for Stark tower.

The pair sat in silence again. Natasha had her window down, as she felt the wind tussle her red curls. Soon enough, skyscrapers morphed into the scenic coastline. She watched the waves break against the shoreline.

She pursed her lips, wondering if there was ever the right time to mention about it, "So why did you let me live back there?" Again, everything went back to Budapest.

He remained quiet for some time, carefully formulating his words, "Well, you didn't kill me the first time we met." He paused again, as his hands moved the steering wheel, "And you didn't do it then at the second time." He glanced at her for a brief second, "I decided to take a chance, and I was right."

"How perceptive of you," she ran her fingers against his right arm, making imaginary tracks on his skin.

…

A cell phone pierced the silence, and no one wanted to answer the incessant machine. She could feel Barton next to her, as he slept through the ringtone initially. His arms were wrapped around her waist.

"Please don't answer that," he voice was muffled against her shoulder blade. His body still protested as he moved, especially his neck.

"I think it's Stark."

His eyes opened widely, "He's not here now. Don't tell me he wants his car back?"

"I don't think so, but that's his ringtone."

"You mean the sounds of lasers blasting is his ringtone," he propped himself on his elbow

"Yeah," she smiled at him. "Don't worry, you have one too." She kissed him on his lips, "But I'm not telling." She wrapped one of the bed sheets around her body and walked to the bathroom, as she heard a beep coming from her cellphone. "That message can wait."

Out of curiosity, Barton reached over to the nightstand where his cellphone was charging, and dialed her number. Since, he was Hawkeye, he expected some sort of bird of prey sound, but surely her ringtone for him was a definite surprise.

"Da da da dada da da dada circus da da da dada afro circus afro circus afro polka dot polka dot polka dot afro!"

_So she did have a sense of humor after all._

"You cheated, Clint," she eyed him from the bathroom.

He stalked his way up to her, and pinned her against the door. "The circus," he raised his eyebrows up at her.

"That is where we did first meet," she felt his lips at her clavicle. "What are we going to do today?" Her eyes caught part of the Blue Ridge Mountains and the tree line from their bedroom window. "We're close to DuPont."

"I have a better idea," he huskily whispered into her ear, as he slowly tugged at the bed sheet. "I have all I need right here."


End file.
